Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed even captain Wayne Rooney is not safe from his ruthless team selection.

United won 1-0 away at Hull on Saturday thanks to an injury-time goal from teenage striker Marcus Rashford . Until providing the cross that made the goal in the 92nd minute, Rooney had produced a subdued display, the like of which Mourinho is unlikely to tolerate many more times.

"I can take him [Rooney] out. It’s no problem for me to take him out, no problem for him to be out,” Mourinho told the Manchester Evening Newsafter the match.

“He was like the team. The first half he was OK but the team was a little bit slow in the transitions.

“The team wasn’t playing with the intensity that we need and he was part of it. In the second half when the team brought a different gear, he did the same.”

I'm just going off what I've heard and read from people I'd assume to know a fair bit about it, but basically, yeah.

The majority of 16-21 year olds play age appropriate football and only once they hit 21 start making bit part appearances in senior sides. There's a reason we have under 16s, 17s, 18s, 19s, 21s and even under 23s as distinct categories away from senior football. Rooney made his Everton debut at 16 years old in 2002, then went on to play in 37 games for them that season. He then made another 40 appearances the following season.

He signed for United aged 18, and had already made 77 senior appearances across the three top domestic competitions, then once you included his international caps, he'd already made 90 odd professional appearances. He then made 40 or more appearances every year for United for 8 consecutive seasons, ending in 2012-13 where he made 37. By the end of the 2012-13 season, still aged 27, Rooney had made 479 professional appearances at club level, and over 80 appearances for England at senior level. Additionally, for much of his career he has been one of, if not the only real key player for whoever he's played for.

If you take Ashley Young, who's just a few months older than Rooney, as a sort of "normal" example, he didn't make his professional debut until he was 18, and only made 6 appearances in his first season. At the end of this season, Rooney had already made 77 appearances for Everton. Young broke through properly in his second, aged 19, and maintained that for his third season. However, Young made his debut at Watford in Division 1/Championship, and didn't play in the Premier League until he was 21. Had Watford not been promoted, he may not have made his Premier League debut until later still.

At the end of 2012-13, aged 27, Ashley Young had made 355 professional appearances at club level, and just shy of 30 for England at senior level. That's over 170 games difference, and whilst Young was important for Watford and Villa, Rooney had been key for Everton, United and England for the majority of games he'd played for them by that point, in a way that just wasn't the same for Young.

In addition to playing a high number of games (719 at the moment, I think), Rooney's style of play has relied heavily on his physical attributes. It's no secret that players who rely on strength or speed tend to burn out sooner than those that rely more on their technical ability, and whilst Rooney's technical ability isn't exactly poor, it's never been something that particularly stood out about his game. I think this, and an inability to adjust his mental approach to the game, leaves him struggling now his legs aren't quite doing what he wants them to do anymore.

I think he did an interview once where he said every break from football, be it because of injury, a holiday in the off-season or simply a bit of a gap between games, would mean extra sessions in the gym for at least a couple of weeks to shed the weight and get his sharpness back, with more needed the longer the break. I think in the same one he mentioned Giggs not needing to do anything like that because his natural fitness was much better than Rooney's. Rooney's been playing top level football for 14 years now, so he's playing a high number of games, in a key role, and in a highly physical manner, for both club and country, as well as having to constantly do extra work in the gym every couple of months or so, since he was about 17. It's no wonder he's fecked.

The reason they dont play it is because he will either spoon it over, mis-control it and loose possession, or spanner it towards the corner flag. He is done, finished, kaput, as much use as a one legged man in an arse kicking contest, or a chocolate fireguard, or an ashtray on a motorbike, or a handbrake on a canoe, or tits on a fish, or a spoon in a knife fight. He has delusions of adequacy, he is at rock bottom and still digging. He is out of his depth in a puddle, he is grossly crap --144 times crapper than crap.

If he was any less use he would have to be watered twice a week, and if he really believes he has nothing to prove he has ridiculously low standards, which he constantly fails to meet.He. Is. Finished. Accept it and move on from denial to anger, let the process continue, we are here for you.

Aika typerää tekstiä, mutta jotenkin teki silti hyvää lukea tuo.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

REDKNAPP: I’ve said it so many times in these pages — I don’t understand playing Rooney as a midfielder. He may feel like he hasn’t got the pace to play up front anymore, but for me he plays as a striker or not at all. Mourinho has to put his players in their best positions, which isn’t happening at the moment as he’s got too many of the same type. It’s going to be fascinating to see if he can do this without upsetting one of the big boys.

KEOWN: It seems Rooney has lost some of his spark, change of pace and extra determination and he doesn’t play with the same edge as he used to. He is struggling to influence the game high up the pitch so, yes, I think playing him as a No 10 is holding back United. Paul Scholes dropped further back into the midfield towards the end of his career so it would seem the natural thing for Rooney to do. But Mourinho said at the start of his tenure that Rooney isn’t a No 6 or a No 8, so where does he play him?

SUTTON: If Pep Guardiola was the manager of Manchester United Wayne Rooney would be dropped immediately. Rooney is a problem for both Jose Mourinho and England manager Sam Allardyce. Putting it simply, there are better players in his position for both club and country now. Mourinho has got to be brave enough to leave Rooney out. United have lacked pace, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not the sort of striker who will move in behind the defence and Rooney is no longer a No 10 who does that. either. I would have the best player in Germany last year, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, playing instead of him for United and for England I would pick Dele Alli. Rooney is holding both teams back. It is as simple as that. The problems really all come down to Rooney. He is the major issue here. If you leave him out it gives you far more options. Rooney has had his day.